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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Bye Bye Birth Control

I have always been weird about taking medicine. I don't know why I'm like this...but I am. I take my birth control pill every day, but I don't like to. So, this Sunday, I am going to stop.

Now don't freak (I'm looking at you, Sweet Bea). This does not mean I am going to have a baby right away. I just want to see what my body is like when it is not full of hormones. I have been on the pill for such a long time that I am kind of freaked out that everything is not working properly. I am hoping this will help me to become more aware of my body and how it works, and also to understand more about myself in general.

I put out a Natural Family Planning information request on Twitter and I immediately got a lot of responses. I did some research based on the info people sent me and am planning to start Natural Family Planning/Fertility Awareness Method tomorrow. I say both because I am not 100% on board with the religious part of NFP, but I'm trying to work towards it. So we'll see. I just like the idea of not being on the pill, so they both are applicable at this point.

For now, we are planning to use NFP/FAM to avoid pregnancy. I am hoping that I can spend the next year or two getting in shape so that when we are ready to start trying I am healthy.

That would be the same post I had 2 years ago, when I did the same thing, although I was ready at the time for kids. When we took the Pre-Cana classes we had the NFP lessons and it was definitely interesting...keep us posted!

That's so exciting. I really wish I could go off the pill just to see how it affects me, but with PCOS they tell me that the pill is really good for it. And you know what, even with the pill people get pregnant all the time so why not just go the natural way anyway :)

J- I am so jealous!!! I am dying to go off the pill (which I have been on for basically around 10 straight years now), but I can't - doctor's orders. I have endometriosis, and had surgery for it in March 08...and now I am absolutely not to go off the pill for any reason until a month before we want to try and get pregnant. It SUCKS. I hate the pill. And I have to take it continuously, no placebo, so that I won't get any periods. I would really, really like to get back to "normal," whatever that is.

This is all so interesting to me! I don't know a lot about NFP so I'm interested to hear about it from you. I have been on the pill for about 6 years...and guess what? I just opened my 2nd to last pack. We're going off of it in December and starting to try for babies :) Eek!

Ick, I feel you. I hate, hate, hate taking pills and will do anything to avoid taking them. I love my current birth control, but am dying to go off of it after I finish school, just so I can have a natural body, if that makes sense? I'm worried that having been on BC for at least 11 years has caused issues with my body. It's paranoid, I know, but I plan to do exactly what you're doing! I hope it goes well and that you feel great about it all!

i assume that you're also prepared to have a baby if that happens?as much as i hate being on the pill, and being on it for so much of my life, we're just not ready for any accidental/surprise pregnancy. i know you're going to be careful and i don't want to scare you but i really just hope you're ready should something happen. i know a couple of people who decided they weren't going to take their pills anymore and adopt a natural/rhythym planning method and they were pregnant before they knew it... and that's NOT what they were going for. just a cautionary tale. i can't imagine anything worse than having a baby before you're ready/want it.

scary stories aside i hope it works for you and you feel much better not taking it... i can only imagine what a relief it will be on your hormones : )

Thanks for opeing up a dialogue about this. I've been on the pill since I was 15 and diagnosed with Migraine (to help prevent them). If you do the math you'll realize it's more than half my life. Since I've been married it's starting to seem like maybe it's time to make a change. I already know I'll need to be off ALL meds when I become pregnant so I've considered stopping the pill first. I'll definitely be looking into this website tonight.

I Do not know about this american program but i can tell you that life without pill is amazing : after years of pills and one hormones treatment to have one of my daughter , i decide to stop ! and listen your body feels free and "natural" is soooo good!

i'm curious to try NFP - our Pre-Cana class said a lot of good things about it (obvi) but i want to do a lot of research before i go off the pill to make sure we're ready for any consequences. That being said, if you do it right and well, it's pretty effective. I'm slightly wary (despite my curiousity) if only because the people who taught that class in our pre-cana series, had...five kids. Whoops? :)

Do it! My husband and I practice NFP and when practiced perfectly the success rate is as high as 99%. It's NOT the rhythm method, as notsojenny referred to above. That method is outdated, inaccurate and faulty since so many women have different cycles. The Sympto-Thermal method is very effective and very practical. Best to you and your husband!

Wow, what a great discussion you have started! And I just wanted to chime in once again to say "Thank You" to KaT above. You took the words right out of my mouth!

One of the biggest challenges facing NFP is a misunderstanding of what it REALLY is, and part of that is distinguishing between modern, effective Natural Family Planning (Sympto-Thermal) and the "old-school" methods that many in our generation were conceived with accidentally!

Hubs and I have been using NFP successfully since we got married last December. We love it. I used to be on the pill in high school, and I would never go back. It just messed too much with my head and my libido!

For everyone's benefit, I wanted to let you know that I just posted an information video about NFP on my site. It was produced by the Diocese of Phoenix, so it obviously references Catholic beliefs and teachings. However, I think it gives some great insight for those of all faith backgrounds.

I went off about 5 months ago for the exact same reasons. I like not being on i- but to be honest- I don't like the stress of family planning methods (I am never 100% confident in myself). But it is good to know that there are others out there who just wanted to go off like of it- like me.